Diaphragm operated valves are used to control the flow of various fluids, such as water, for many different purposes, including irrigation. A typical prior art diaphragm valve includes a valve housing and a linearly movable valve element for cooperating with a valve seat to control flow through the valve housing. The valve element is held closed by inlet water pressure which is supplied to a control chamber on one side of the valve element. To open the valve, the pressure in the control chamber is vented by a solenoid valve or other suitable means, and this allows inlet water pressure to open the valve.
One such diaphragm valve is shown in Hauser U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,126. A diaphragm valve in which the valve element pivots is shown in Rabal U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,034. Although the Hauser valve functions very satisfactorily, both of these valves are more complicated than desired in their construction and assembly. These factors contribute to increasing the cost of the valve. In addition, the pressure loss through both of these valves is relatively high in that the water must "bend" through essentially 180 degrees in moving through the valve. Although inclining of the valve seat with respect to the axis of the passage through the valve housing is known to reduce pressure loss, the problem of providing such a feature in combination with an easily assembled, relatively low-cost valve has not been solved.